Overcoming the Challenges Facing South Africa’s YouthBreaking the Cycle of Poverty and Finding New Opportunities for Young People

WORDS Connor Foley

Over two decades after South Africa’s first democratic election, the realities facing young people remain as troubling as ever due to issues such as crime, poverty, unequal educational opportunities, unemployment and drug abuse. While the country’s annual Youth Day on 16 June commemorates the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, the struggle for a better quality of life for the country’s youth continues – over 40 years later.

The theme for South Africa’s youth day this year was ‘Live the legacy: Towards a socio-economically empowered youth,’ which is aimed at encouraging young people to emulate the values and virtues of their heroes and heroines.

To make matters worse, in its most recent budget speech, the government announced plans to cut basic education fundingby approximately R7 billion over the next three financial years. These cuts further hinder an educated and employable youth population from becoming a reality.

Youth Day in South Africa honours the lives lost during the Soweto Uprising but also encourages young people to aspire for change. Photo: courtesy of Where Rainbows Meet Foundation

Thankfully, a number of non-profit organisations are currently working in South Africa to uplift and provide opportunities for young people.

Bhongolwethu Sonti is the Director of Programmes at the Tore’s Foundation, a non-government organisation (NGO) that promotes the fostering of democracy by providing liberal educational opportunities in developing countries. He says better education is essential for breaking the cycle of poverty and liberating young people.

‘South Africa is a special country because it has a recent history of segregation, and you find many youth right now come from generations of living in a fragmented family and in poverty,’ he says.

‘The top careers promoted in every textbook include engineer, doctor, lawyer or teacher, and young people aren’t exposed to other things. The government hasn’t seen a world that has a diverse and vast amount of people with a vast amount of career outlooks and talents.’

Bhongo also discussed why NGOs such as the Tore’s Foundation play such an important role in impacting young people.

‘The beauty of NGOs is that funders evaluate our performance and that drives the work we do…the fact that we must report back means there always has to be an impact on the children,’ he says.

‘It makes us accountable to people which keeps us on our toes,’ he says, adding that this is something they are trying to get public institutions to mirror.

The challenges facing young people can seem overwhelming, but groups such as the Tore’s Foundation are working hard to help them find their feet. Organisations such as the South African Youth Development Academy (SAYDA), Organisation of African Youth (OAYouth), Re.think Leadership and Youth in Action are just some of those making a positive impact on the South African youth.

With the current socioeconomic climate many young people are facing, the assistance is crucial.

The percentage of unemployed youth exhibits the unemployment crisis in South Africa when compared to the global average. Photo: theatlas.com

Many South African children are born at-risk because of the country’s long history of crime and poverty, which can create a vicious cycle that is hard to break. This is particularly true for areas such as the Western Cape, where police estimate there are approximately 100,000 gang members.

While many youth face this problem, the lasting impact of apartheid is obvious as the issues predominately affect the black and coloured communities. According to DA Shadow Deputy Minister Yusuf Cassim, a black child is still 196 times more likely to grow up in poverty than a white child and white households earn almost five times more than black households on average.

To improve youth unemployment, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the Youth Employment Service initiative earlier this year, which aims to offer paid work experience over the next three years to up to a million young South Africans in partnership with business and organised labour.

South Africa defines youth as people between 15–35 years old and this age bracket constitutes an unusually large portion of the South African population.

The 2016 Youth Development Index reported that South African youth currently make up over one-third of the population, while the average figure for developing countries is approximately a quarter.

The 2016 Youth Development Index reported that South African youth currently make up over one-third of the population, while the average figure for developing countries is approximately a quarter.

This means South Africa must not only account to a larger portion of youth, but the current generation of young people will be vitally important in preventing the future population from facing the same challenges.

Matthew Williams, 20, has taken on this challenge after completing a bridging course with the Tore’s Foundation and is now an intern at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office.

He spoke of the importance of having positive role models for young people in at-risk areas to help them adopt the right attitude.

‘Most households in my township [Vrygrond] have drug addicts or alcoholics, so we aren’t getting the right guidance system from our parents,’ he says.

‘My circumstances have always been difficult…there were days when we had no food and would sleep without power because we couldn’t afford it, but living through that hardship, I knew that I don’t want that for myself or my child in the future.

‘There were always people such as my pastor and youth leader who motivated me,’ he says, adding that this hope that others had in him made him realise that he could have a better future.

With a struggling education system, many NGOs help young people to improve literacy skills, provide access to internships and offer life-skills programmes. Photo: Deutsche Bank/flickr

He also stressed the importance of organisations helping people such as himself find the right path.

‘I think organisations such as the Tore’s Foundation are very important and from personal experience, I know when they come and speak with the children, it gives you a sense of belonging,’ he says.

‘The next step is to implement more functional structures for these foundations so it can include more people because I think it is important that everyone has access to it.’

Matthew’s fellow intern, 18-year old Wendell Thruben from Capricorn, also completed the course at the Tore’s Foundation.

Wendell says he is thankful for the positive influences of his family in a community where a lot of people don’t necessarily want the best for you.

‘My role-model would be my older sister, she set the standard for me and showed me I have the ability to do something good in the future,’ says Wendell Thruben.

‘My role-model would be my older sister, she set the standard for me and showed me I have the ability to do something good in the future,’ he says.

‘One of the greatest challenges young people face is peer pressure because there are going to be people who want to drag you down… it’s good to have someone to uplift you but those kinds of people are very hard to find.’

The Tore’s Foundation has also played an important role in his life and working with people from around the world has helped him widen his outlook.

‘The foundation helped me see that there is no reason you have to conform to the patterns of your community.’

‘When you are from my type of area, you are often boxed in and people don’t have an open awareness of how other people live.’

Connor is a journalism and international relations student who believes journalists play a vital role in society. His interests include politics, music and the environment. After Cape Town, he plans to return home to Adelaide to finish his university degree.